Tuesday, April 25, 2006

idiosyncrasy

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy ( id eo s ng kr se )
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
3. An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.

A friend recently asked me what my “idiosyncrasies” are. Nothing sprung immediately to mind. At any point in time, I probably have a few “odd habits”, but are any of these behavioral characteristics? Besides, my habits morph over time, so is it truly an idiosyncrasy?

Definitions aside, I figured a daily or weekly log, might reveal certain behavioral patterns that I could, for the time being, label an idiosyncrasy. I’ve made a note over the last week of a few “things I do”.

Here goes:

1. I sleep on the right hand side of the bed (left if you’re looking from the foot of the bed!)
2. I eat a jar of almond butter a week – it tastes best smothered directly on a banana.
3. Practically the first thing I do when I get into my apartment is check my email.
4. I clip out my right cleat when stopped on my bike – I know that’s a Fred thing to do!
5. When purchasing bulk items (e.g. mixed nuts, yoghurt-covered almonds, raisins) at Wholefoods, I usually eat a couple of pieces before tying the bag.
6. I carry my purse on my left shoulder (unusual for a right-handed person).
7. I don’t cook.
8. My room-mate tells me that I run the dishwasher when it’s half-full.
9. I weigh myself every day.
10. I need a glass of water and lip balm by my bed at night.

Are any of these truly idiosyncrasies? If I were to repeat this exercise in a year’s time, how many items on the list would be different?

Monday, April 10, 2006

Fortitudine vincimus

In the few days leading up to Ironman Arizona I read the book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing. The book recounts the astonishing tale of survival of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 men for over a year in the ice-bound Antarctic seas after their ship "Endurance" was crushed in the South Atlantic's ice pack in January 1915.

Fortitudine vincimus - "By endurance, we conquer" - is the Shackleton family motto. The book turned out to be a thrilling, suspenseful read and remarkably apt and motivating ahead of an Ironman race!

The swim was a single loop in the temperate but brackish waters of Tempe town lake, a dammed river, in downtown Tempe. I chose an inside line and this route was, for the most part, collision-free. The swim to the turnaround passed quickly but the return trip seemed to be very slow-going. Was there a current? Was I tiring? I didn't take a mid-point split but I reached the swim exit steps after a mind-numbing 1:19.

The bike is usually my sanctuary in an Ironman. My favorite and strongest discipline... I don't mind suffering on two wheels! However, my bike preparation for IMAZ had not gone as well as I would have liked. I can't pinpoint the reason but it was some combination of a very wet winter in San Francisco, a bike crash in late February and a lot of mental distractions and missed workouts. I tried to put that out of mind on Sunday and attempted to push the watts I wanted to ride (rather than the watts my current training told me I should ride). So I hammered my way to a 5:23:16 bike split (10th fastest bike split of the day for all female pros/AG'ers) and I entered T2 in 4th place in my age-group.

But the race does not end in T2, there was still a 26.2mi footrace to be completed! I set off feeling less than stellar but the legs came around quickly and I was running 8:30/8:45 pace each mile. I was passed at mile 2 by a woman in my age-group but besides her and being lapped by Michael Lovato, Spencer Smith and Tim DeBoom (top 3 pro men), I spent most of my time navigating the *walkers* on the 3 lap run course. It was a sunny, hot day (92 degrees) in Tempe and the weather clearly took its toll on many people. I received many comments about my solid pace... but my overall time was swollen by my incredible slowness through aid stations. For the last few miles, I was running scared in the fear that the *runners* were catching me but I managed to hang on to my 5th place and finished the run in 4:12:52 for a total time of 11:06:10. An Ironman personal best.

The highlight of the day was probably a very cute, blonde cyclist (wearing a kit that looked like old Alessio gear?) who was spectating on the run course... I saw him at practically every turn... I thought/hoped he might have been following me :-)

The lowlight of the day was hearing about my team-mate, Sandy Liaw's, crash on the bike. She collided with a cyclist on the Beeline Highway turnaround (mile 56mi) and cut her face badly. She still completed the bike and ran 6miles before being persuaded to stop. She'll be back. Studette.

Hawaii-Five-O... Unfortunately, 5th place was not quite good enough for a Kona slot. There were just 4 slots. It's bittersweet... at least I don't have to race another Ironman in 2006... it hurt!